


The Position of Rank

by Magnetism_bind



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Assumptions, Class Differences, Class Issues, Desk Sex, James topping, Lack of Communication, M/M, Rough Sex, Sexual Conversations, Switching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 12:46:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11441163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magnetism_bind/pseuds/Magnetism_bind
Summary: Thomas realizes that James has been letting him top because he thinks Thomas expects it.





	The Position of Rank

It’s only the fourth time they’ve been to bed together. James sits upon the edge of the bed, already reaching for his clothes.

Thomas lolls across the rumpled bedclothes, admiring the view of James’s bare back. It’s a wonderful view and he’s very fond it. The expanse of skin, the myriad of James’s freckles; Thomas has a goal to kiss every single one of them and he’s making progress, but it will take time.

“You’re so beautiful.” He murmurs. “Do you even know what it’s like to be inside you?”

“Yes.” James reaches for his shirt.

Thomas blinks. “What?” He’d assumed, foolishly perhaps, that James preferred for him to do the deed as it were, that he didn’t care for the other. That offhanded remark of his and James’s quiet direct response throw him slightly.

“I mean, not with you my lord, obviously.” James’s ears grow pink. He picks up his breeches, stepping into them, drawing them up his thighs, covering himself. “I have fucked others.”

“Well, yes.” Thomas pushes himself up. “I didn’t presume this was your first dalliance. But…” He hesitates, reconstructing his thoughts and the way James had called him by his title just then. “James, would you…”

 _Would you like to fuck me?_ The words are right there on the tip of his tongue _._

There’s a knock at the door and James hurriedly grabs for his boots and jacket. “I must go.” He leans over and brushes a light kiss over Thomas’s mouth.

“Of course.” Thomas sits back as James leaves. The moment for asking the question is lost.

 *  *  *

Thomas considers the matter all day. He’d assumed James had a preference for the position he usually took, but what if he’s only submitting because he thought Thomas wanted him to? It’s an appalling thought, so much so that Thomas finds himself distracted all through dinner as well and of course, Miranda notices.

“Whatever is it?”

“I had a conversation with James that left me rather confused today and I rather believe we need to discuss our lovemaking.” He finishes with a faint blush.

Miranda raises an eyebrow. “Thomas, you’re going to have to be more specific than that if I am to help.”

Thomas sighs. “I believe he’s been letting me fuck him because of my rank, that he thinks he should be the one to spread his legs since I am a lord and he is not.

“Well, that’s ridiculous.” Miranda exclaims. “Have you spoken to him?”

“Not yet. I know it’s ridiculous, my dear. But after what happened today, I can’t help but think that’s what it is. Previously, I had assumed…” He rubs at his temples and sighs. “I’ll just have to ask and that, Miranda, is going to be extremely awkward.” Usually he enjoys gently coaxing James out of his embarrassment regarding sex, but somehow this is different.

Miranda reaches over to take his hand. “I know, but it’s the only way to reach a mutually beneficial understanding between you.”

“I know.” Thomas sighs again. “You’ve always enjoyed when he and you…”

“Yes, of course.” Miranda smiles. “He’s very good as it so happens.” Her smile reaches her eyes and Thomas finds himself wanting to know exactly she means in this instance. He’s always wanted that, if he’s honest. How has he been so foolish as to just assume?

He simply hates the thought that anything they’ve done _hasn’t_ been to James’s wanting. But he doesn’t know for sure, it’s all conjecture at this point. So he’ll have to speak to him, and bugger the consequences.

 *  *  *

Three days pass and he doesn’t see James and then at last James is there again at the house.

They greet each other easily. James seems comfortable enough, but Thomas can’t help the feeling that he’s not quite as comfortable as he should be. James should be complete relaxed and yet he’s not, a little stiffer, a little more formal, more like he was during the first days he came to the Hamilton home.

Thomas keeps waiting for the right moment to bring up the subject and then hesitating, pushing it back.

At last they’ve gone over all they intended to for the day, and normally, if they follow the pattern they’ve begun the last few afternoons, they would then retire upstairs to Thomas’s bedroom.

James looks at Thomas almost expectantly and when Thomas doesn’t immediately lead the way to the door, his expression alters.

“If your thoughts are distracted, my lord, I can take my leave.”

“Why do you do that?” Thomas looks at him quizzically. “Call me ‘my lord’ when we’re the only ones here?”

James blinks, and then, an almost amused, half defiant expression crosses his face. “Partly because it’s habit still, and partly a reminder to myself mostly that we’re not always alone, and partly out of defense…” He drops his gaze, swallowing softly.

“Defense?” Thomas looks at him with perplexed eyes. “What defense do you need here? Against me?”

“I mean, if you tire of me, and don’t wish to go to bed...then I would prefer to be told outright and not left to dangle awkwardly like a fish on a damned hook.” James says. “I know the appeal of novelty fades, and you have your pick of the finest London has to offer.” He stops seeing the look on Thomas’s face.

“You think…” Thomas is almost amused. “That I’m tired of you?”

James shrugs awkwardly. “Then, tell me, what is it?”

“I’ve been trying to ascertain whether you’re been letting me fuck you because you think I expect it due to my title.” Thomas says matter-of factly.

James’s lips part wordlessly and then he shuts them again. There’s a subtle tic to his jaw that gives a breath of repressed emotion away and somehow that confirms Thomas’s thoughts.

“It’s true.” He points at James with suspicious alacrity. “I’m correct, aren’t I? You’ve been letting me be on top because you think I expect it. Admit it!”

“What of it?” James rasps out at last.

“What of it?” Thomas repeats. “We should have discussed it at the very least.”

James laughs, and the harsh sound of it almost cuts Thomas to the quick. “Are you telling me that you’d spread your legs for a mere lieutenant?”

Thomas flushes. “Do you truly believe I think so little of you?”

“It’s not a matter of that.” James says. “It’s just what people would think…”

“And what would people think?” Thomas sneers. “Regardless of who’s on top, they would be scandalized regardless.”

“Don’t be naïve.” James says flatly. “There are entirely different consequences depending on whether I was found to be getting fucked by a lord, than if you were discovered with a lieutenant’s cock up your ass.”

Thomas flushes harder. They’re angry words; they shouldn’t have this effect on him, and yet here he is, hard in his breeches, both from James’s words and from the thought of James doing exactly that.

“What if I said I don’t care?” He says quietly. “What if I said I wanted you to fuck me?”

James just stares at him, his eyes widening. “I...assumed you…”

Thomas sits back with a smile. “It would appear we have both made poor assumptions.” His tone is dry.

James recovers quickly. “I, but you’ve never…”

“Never what?” Thomas says softly. “Never let someone put their cock inside me?”

Heat flares in James’s eyes and he takes a step closer to Thomas, scanning his face. “Have you?”

“What do you think?” Thomas says, curious. What presumptions has James made about him? Does he think no one’s dared lay a hand on him? Surely he can’t think that’s the case.

James hesitates. “I don’t want to presume my lord.”

Now that he knows the cause of James’s use of the title, half defensive, half reminder, Thomas is almost amused by the term.

“Well, as it so happens, I have.” Thomas states quite off-handedly. He’s not prepared for the look on James’s face, the way his eyes narrow and his jaw tightens.

Thomas studies him, it’s not disgust. No, even as constrained by their variations of rank and class as they are, even if James didn’t want to fuck Thomas, the idea of Thomas being fucked by someone else would be insulting to the whole class if it were known and James has every right to be repelled by finding out that Thomas has let men fuck him.

But it’s not that. Thomas eyes him carefully, taking in every aspect of James’s expression. “You’re jealous.”

James looks away. “It’s not my place to be jealous, my lord.”

“Nevertheless, you are.” Thomas retorts.

“So what?” James snarls. “How do you think it feels to know-“ He breaks off tightly.

“Know what?” Thomas rises, leaning on the desk, watching him pace.

“To know that someone else has had what you’ve only dreamed of.” James murmurs without looking at him.

Thomas’s cravat is too tight; his breeches too tight. He can hardly breathe. “Why didn’t you ask me?”

James just looks at him with pained amusement. “You don’t just ask a lord if you can fuck him. It’s not done.”

“I thought we weren’t…held by those standards of other people.” Thomas murmurs. He feels hurt by this knowledge that James presumed he was like that. As he moves around the desk, James’s gaze drops to his breeches and then away quickly.

Thomas’s cock stiffens even more, by the hunger of James’s gaze and the knowledge of what it means.

“Does it bother you that I’ve been had by other men?”

James drags his gaze back up to meet Thomas’s eyes. “It would be hypocritical of me.”

“That’s not an answer.” Thomas pushes out.

James hesitates. “No.” He says. “That doesn’t bother me, but…your earlier assumption was correct.”

 _Jealous._ He’s jealous. Thomas waits, and then. “Do you want to fuck me?”

James’s jaw locks even tighter, fighting against whatever it is he wants to say. “You don’t have to just because.”

“It’s not that.” Thomas tells him. “I want you to... I merely assumed you preferred having your partner on top.” He sighs. This has just been an awkward misunderstanding all along. “I should have just asked you, but that first time…” He had been so eager and James had drawn him between his spread thighs and said ‘fuck me, my lord’ and how was Thomas supposed to have resisted? “I should have asked.”

“I should have known you would be different.” James confesses. “I made a foolish assumption and I apologize.”

Thomas reaches for his hand, drawing James to him. James lets him, holding his hand close, letting his fingertips smooth over his palm and the back of his hand, like it was new, like Thomas had never held him before. James lets him do all that, watching Thomas’s face as his fingers mingle gently with James’s.

“So tell me then. Would you like to fuck me?”

“Are you sure?” James asks, his hand dropping to rest over Thomas’s hip.

“James, I would love you for you to stick your cock in me.”

James draws a breath. He looks down briefly and then back up again at Thomas, like he can’t believe his ears. “Where do you want me fuck you?”

There’s no reason they can’t go upstairs, but the idea of a different location, of just right here, right now, Thomas bites back a moan. He wants this to be memorable.

“Here.” He breathes. “Fuck me against the desk.”

He knows he’s made the right suggestion as James’s eyes go completely dark. “Here, over your fine desk? With your books and maps, my lord? So that every time you sit at it, every time you work at it, you’ll think of me? Fucking you?”

Thomas is lightheaded with desire. “Yes.” That’s exactly what he wants.

“Get your breeches down.” James orders. He pushes Thomas up against his desk, crowding him with his thighs.

He yanks Thomas’s shirt up from his breeches, tugging it open. He pulls Thomas’s breeches down to his thighs, along with his drawers.

Thomas’s bare ass hits the edge of the desk, and he starts, both from the harsh press of the polished wood, against sensitive flesh, and the realization of just how eager James is for this.

“When was the last time you fucked someone?” He asks.

James’s breath is steady as he thinks. “Nearly a year ago.” He admits, looking around.

“There’s oil in my desk, left drawer.” Thomas tells him, and then blushes a little.

James fetches it and then tells Thomas to spread his legs, which he does, unable to stop his arousal at the thought of what’s going to happen. _James wants to fuck him. James is going to fuck him. James inside him._

“And…” he presses for more when James is silent.

James hesitates. “He wasn’t a lord.” He says at last. The slick trickle of oil over his hole makes Thomas shiver. It has been nearly a year for him as well, since he was taken in this way and it’s only because of how aroused he is that he’s not tenser at the prospect.

“Who was he then?”

“A sailor on another ship.” James says. He rubs the pad of his hole over Thomas’s hole slowly, in wondrous awe. “You’re so…”

Thomas presses his palms flat, gasping as James keeps just stroking him. And then just he’s just about to beg, James finally slips his forefinger into him, all the way up to the knuckle. Thomas practically keens with desire.

His cock’s pressed flush against his belly, the tip weeping against his shirt, the feel of him burning right through the shirt.

James curls his finger slightly and he gasps with pleasure, grasping at the desk. “James. James.”

“Too much?” James asks worriedly.

“Not nearly enough.” Thomas’s voice is rough. “I need you inside me.”

“I need to make sure you’re ready…” James adds the press of another finger, pushing in and Thomas bites back a sob. He’s taking such careful care, and it makes Thomas want to fucking beg. He’s not made of china; he won’t break if James is rough with him.

“James, please. I need you in me. I want you to fuck me. I want you to fill me with your cock and come inside me.”

With a raw savage cry, James pulls his fingers loose, causing Thomas to moan, and then he turns Thomas over, laying him back upon the desk, pushing his thighs far apart as he stands between them. Thomas lies back, uncaring of what he’s lying on, what papers he’s crushing, what items fall to the floor.

He has only eyes for James, standing over him, face flushed, blood hot, still entirely dressed except for his open breeches. Lust stiffens Thomas’s cock even more as he watches James draw himself out, reaching for the oil to slick himself. James catches his eye.

“Tell me how much you want my cock.” He commands.

Thomas’s cock answers all on its own, throbbing heatedly in response. James gives half a laugh as he traces down the heated length of it with his finger, gliding over it teasingly.

Thomas groans at the feel of his palm on his aching flesh. “James.”

“Tell me.” James asks again and then lowers his head.

Thomas cries aloud as James takes him in his mouth. “I want your cock so badly, I ache for it. I’ve dreamt of this, but I didn’t think you wanted it. I want you to fuck me senseless, till I’m sore so that I think of you for days afterward.”

James hums in his desire around him, sucking wetly on Thomas’s shaft, and draws off with a teasing suck.

He straightens up and reaches for Thomas’s hips, lifting them “Tell me.”

“Fuck me.” Thomas orders and James grips his hips so that he thrusts straight into Thomas. Thomas groans, gripping the desk above his head with his hands, panting as his back is pressed raw against the wood.

James’s hips work fast and rhythmically, thrusting steadily into him, slightly across that spot that makes Thomas want to scream with need. He’s distinctly aware of what he must look like, completely naked except for his shirt, which is half torn off him, hardened cock practically begging all on its own. James is thrusting between his thighs, hips pumping away. If this was how they were to be discovered, he would have no regrets, no shame at being fucked upon his desk, with James’s cock fully impaled within him.

He focuses his eyes on James again. “I want you to come inside me.” Thomas tells him, his voice reduced to a rasp.

James reaches for him, adjusting his hips again, sliding out of Thomas and then in him again, letting him feel every hot velvet inch of him, rubbing just right as Thomas clenches around him, trying to control himself, to hold back until James comes first, but he _can’t_ and his come splatters across his shirt, landing on his thighs and James as well.

He’s made a mess of everything and he doesn’t care. James growls and moves faster, gripping Thomas’s so tightly, his fingers biting into his skin and then with a sigh, he comes, hips jerking tightly as he shoots a thick steam inside Thomas, who gasps at the sensation.

The room is suddenly silent save for the sound of their breath.

Thomas lies there upon his desk, chest heaving.

James’s breath is a rasp as he leans over Thomas, his cock softening slowly inside Thomas.

Thomas reaches for him. “Kiss me.”

James leans down to match his lips to Thomas. “How are you?”

Thomas pulls at his chest, James’s body brushing against his cock. “I am very well.” He says in all seriousness, and at his tone, James starts to smile at him.

“I’m sorry…” James apologizes. “It’s just been a while, and I wanted to make sure.”

Thomas shifts in his embrace, feeling the stretch of James still inside him, watching James exhale softly.

“You feel so good.” James murmurs almost drowsily. “I never dreamed.”

Thomas sits up, as he starts to draw out of him, halting his action. “Would you have ever had said anything?”

James hesitates. “I don’t know.” He admits, his honesty touching Thomas. “I should have known better, I should have known you.” He falters and Thomas leans up to kiss him, wrapping his hips firmly around James, holding him inside him as long as he can.

“I always want you to tell me what you want and what you don’t.” He says when they draw apart at last.

“Don’t think I don’t want you to fuck me too.” James says in sudden alarm. “I like you fucking me.”

Thomas flushes. “I’m glad to hear it.” He looks up at James with contemplative eyes. “So do you have a preference, one way or another? Tell me truly.”

“I enjoy both.” James tells him. “It depends. What a man is like, how he is.” Almost absentmindedly, his hand brushes down Thomas’s arm, just a bare stroke of a caress, but it sets Thomas’s skin alight.

“But I would prefer, if I could have anything, a partner who enjoys both, the give and take of both, who enjoys the pleasure of being fucked and fucking.”

“Good.” Thomas says, kissing him again. “For you have found him then.”

James tilts his head up and at this angle he’s just a fraction taller than Thomas and it amuses both of them. “So long as you fuck me and I fuck you, I’ll be content.”

Thomas waits and James gives him a twitch of his amused mouth, holding back a laugh again.

“I will be content, Thomas.” He murmurs and Thomas smiles.


End file.
